PDF Download: Woodlands of College Station Project ProfileLocation: College Station, TXProject: Woodlands of College Station Emergency Vehicle AccessSystem Installed: Concealed Grasscrete System

Grasscrete Systems provide a variety of landscape solutions while maintaining a sustainable, “Green” product design. As a cast-in-place, monolithic, pervious concrete pavement that is continuously reinforced to provide superior structural integrity, Grasscrete offers the ability to provide year-round access to a variety of applications without compromising surrounding aesthetics or environment. Now available to be installed with a new Molded Pulp Former made from 100% recycled paper products, developed and introduced in January 2007, Grasscrete installation costs are significantly lower, production is increased and environmental concerns are virtually eliminated.

In the Woodlands of College Station housing development project featured here, the designer’s at Kimley-Horn & Assoc., Inc. needed to find a functional and sustainable solution to create a fire lane with sidewalks constructed within to provide access between housing units in case of emergency. Needing a system fit to support large trucks and heavy vehicle loads, the solution was obvious–Grasscrete Systems.

Without hesitation, the design team at Kimley-Horn contacted Texas Bomanite out of Dallas, TX and by mid- Summer 2007, after passing a city required “Fire Truck Load Test”, the 30,000 sq. ft. Grasscrete project was underway. With the economical and evident environmentally-friendly benefits of the new pulp formers, Texas Bomanite opted against using the single-use plastic or reusable formers originally designed for Grasscrete installations on this project. “Compared to utilizing our old reusable former, the new pulp formers have offered us the opportunity to greatly increase our production. The setup time is less and we were able to make pours of up to 6,000 sq. ft. per day. With the old system, the pours were limited to 1,000 to 1,200 sq. ft. per day,” says Scott Balch, Owner of Texas Bomanite.

Unlike the plastic formers that require bridging or scaffolding to support workmen, the Molded Pulp Former can be walked on by workmen and can even bear the weight of wheeled concrete, thus increasing productivity. Bound by only simple starch, the former also eliminates the burning to open the former voids like the plastic versions require. The formers are easily broken down with pressurized water and the voids are opened with a simple “punch-type” tool. However, Grasscrete can be installed with the single-use and/or reusable plastic formers if preferred.

The 27’ fire lane with 12” solid borders striped with fire lane markings was installed with a 3000 PSI pea gravel concrete mix with Superplaticizer. The concrete was placed at a 6” slump using a pump-truck for several pours. With a 6” crushed stone base specified by the Engineer on the project, the Grasscrete System was reinforced with #3 rebar on 16” centers. The concealed system made to be seeded with 1.5” of topsoil or grass also encompassed sidewalks raised to 1.5” above the installed system; all enclosed by a picture frame border.

Numerous valves, meter boxes and manholes were located within the fire lane and were adjusted to grade as well. With the installation going off without a hitch, Texas Bomanite’s Grasscrete application utilizing the new Molded Pulp Former proved to be exactly the high quality, cost-effective and sustainable solution that the project designer’s were looking for.